Greater bullying and social exclusion are linked to higher internalising symptoms from ages 10 to 21

Summary

Adolescence has been proposed as a second sensitive period of development with heightened sensitivity to socio-cultural processing. However, age-specific relationships between adverse social experiences and internalising symptoms are unclear. In this study, we used self-reported data at yearly intervals from age 10 to 21 years from the UK Household Longitudinal (UKHLS) Study. We investigated individual differences in how internalising symptoms change with age and whether there are differences in sensitivity to adverse social experiences (bullying and social exclusion). We captured the relationship between bullying and internalising symptoms from age 10 to 15 years (N = 10,285) and social exclusion and internalising symptoms from age 16 to 21 years (N = 11,623) by leveraging latent growth curve models with time-varying covariates. More bullying was associated with greater internalising symptoms, and there was evidence for age-specific sensitivity at yearly intervals from age 10-15 years (estimates = .541-.714, standardised estimates: .270-.400, ps < .001, FDR corrected ps < .05). From ages 16-21, higher feelings of social exclusion were associated with greater internalising symptoms (est = .312, p < .001), and the strength of this relationship remained stable over time. This evidence shows that vulnerability to adverse social experiences varies over age, and more so between age 10-15 years. The findings highlight: 1) the role of adverse social experiences in internalising symptoms with yearly precision, 2) the relevance of age-specific vulnerabilities to adverse social experiences, 3) and the importance of considering sensitivities beyond age 18 years.